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Home / Other Pests / Scorpions
Scorpion Facts
Scorpions are arachnids that possess eight legs. They are related to spiders, mites, and ticks, as well as other members of the Arachnida class.
The scorpion's anatomy is composed of two segments called the cephalothorax - also known as the abdomen / opisthosoma. It is composed of an extended body and a segmented, erectile tail, which ends with the stinger.
A hard, bony outer covering known as the carapace protects the cephalothorax. This covering supports a pair of median eyes at the top center.
Scorpions live in very dry climates. Despite this, they are very sensitive to the loss of moisture from their body. They must drink water and they hide during the day in shady burrows.
Female scorpions carry their eggs inside their bodies. When the young leave the female's body, they climb onto the mother's back. They stay on the mother's back until they have gone through their first molt. After that, they climb down and scatter.
Small scorpions resemble adult scorpions. As they age, they shed their exoskeletons. A young scorpion's progress is measured by the molting stage since it requires five to seven molts to reach maturity.
A scorpion's life span ranges between four to fifteen years. They also prefer to live and survive within the temperatures of 14°C to 45°C. They find shelter during the day in underground holes or undersides of rocks, which makes them fossorial creatures.
Scorpions become nocturnal when they are old enough to hunt and feed. They invade predators' homes such as birds, centipedes, lizards, mice, opossums, and rats. When hunting for a prey, they use their chelae, or pincers, to either crush or inject their victims with neurotoxic venom, which actually paralyzes or kills their prey. They use small, claw-like structures that protrude from their mouth for eating. Scorpions can only chew their food in a liquid form and will dispose any solid matter before ingestion.
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